YESTERDAY'S TOWNS

HOWDY, MY NAME IS BILL STRONG, I'LL BE YOUR "24 HOUR MAN", ROUTING YOU INTO THE PAST TO SEE WHAT THE CIRCUS WAS IN DAYS GONE BY. IF YOU'RE LIKE ME, AND MISS WHAT IT USED TO BE, THEN COME ON ALONG AS WE GO DOWN THE ROAD FOLLOWING THE ARROWS BACKWARDS, TO "YESTERDAY'S TOWNS"!
IF YOU HAVE CIRCUS RELATED PICTURES YOU WOULD LIKE POSTED, SEND THEM TO,,,,yesterday1@verizon.net,,,,AND WE WILL TRY TO FIT THEM IN. "24 HOUR MAN" WILL HAVE THE FINAL DECISION ON POSTING.

About Me

Three years at CWM made me a real traditionalist, and I keep remembering Bob Parkinson saying, "I want the people to see what the circus used to be, not what it is today. That's what this site is about!

NINETTE THERON PARKER'S SCRAPBOOK OF MEMORIES #2

LEXIE BRUNOHow many of you remember when George Bruno, & his wife Lexie did a routine with him in a footloop holding her,(like a hanging perch), then she would go down to the axle while he did the Sway-Pole routine, then she would trip the Break-Away, and operate the brake.

NINETTE WORKING WITH ELEPHANTS I don't have info on this snapshot yet.

NINETTE THERON PARKER'S SCRAPBOOK OF MEMORIES #3

RINGLING BROS. CIRCUS 1951Here is cast & crew boarding the plane to an engagement in Cuba. See how many people you can identify, I see Jimmy Armstrong down front, & Les Parker in the dark shirt, ninth from the right in the back row, and that sure looks like Bill Horn(Scamihorn)in front of him.

RINGLING BROS. CIRCUS 1946

Right front is Edith Wallenda, & looking over her right shoulder is Evelyn Theron

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

FROM JOHN HERRIOTT'S CIRCUS TRIVIA TREASURES

Here is a new one that might rattle your brains and I would hope the guesser would not be anonymous. So, We all know or know of circus greats Poodles Hanneford, Manuel Zacchini, Tony Smaha Sr. and Tarzan Zerbini. What, as performers, did they all have in common

Monday, November 27, 2006

FOUR LADIES OF THE LES KIMRIS AIRPLANE ACT

VERA COLIET' KIMRISVera was married to Henri's brother Leon, and replaced him when he was injured in a fall. She worked in the act approximately 6 years and left the act after Leon's death and was replaced by Lee. I am not sure of the spelling of Coliet' which was Henri & Leon's real name.

LEE COLLIET' KIMRISLee was formerly Elisabeth Wallenda, having been married to Karl's brother Herman. She worked in the act from the early '40's until retiring in 1964.

TRUDY WILSON STRONGHere is Trudy posing with our entrance Robot, actually he was a dry-ice fog machine in disguise.Trudy worked in the act from 1964 till 1982.

DONNA "NAJEAN" WILSONUnlike the other ladies Donna did not work the act over a long period of time. I do believe however, she is the only person to work both sides of the act, when Trudy was expecting Steven, Donna filled in for her for a couple months, and when I had a Stomach Flu in Honolulu and could not work she filled in for me.

Friday, November 24, 2006

73rd HADI TEMPLE SHRINE CIRCUS: EVANSVILLE, IN

These photos of little Obert are from Trudy's camera cell phone,,,,,,,and they laughed at Dick Tracy's wrist radio.

The following pictures & press releases appeared today in the Evansville Courier Express."Mademoiselle Christina" (This is actually Tina & John Winn's daughter Ashley), slides down a zip wire suspended only by her neck during the "Breathtaking Slide For Life" segment of the 73rd annual Hadi Shrine Circus at Roberts Stadium on Thursday.

One of 14 Hawthorn performing White Tigers jumps through a hoop of fire during the 73rd annual Hadi Shrine Circus.

Jennifer Walker puts rosin on her tights backstage before performing in an acrobatic aerial performance.

Naty Frisco, center with orange headdress, who performs in the acrobatic Aerial Web act and also rides the elephants, gets ready backstage with her daughter Nicole, 3, in tow during the 73rd annual Hadi Shrine Circus at Roberts Stadium on Thursday.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Some people have wondered why I've been slow at times putting new posts on Yesterday's Towns. Well here is one of the reasons. Paul Kaye thought since this is The Year of the Dog in China it would be cute for the Dog Act display in Evansville to have a Chinese Theme. So Joanne came up with the idea for an entrance prop, a Rickshaw. Here it is.

This is almost the finished product, added will be two bright yellow Chinese Lanterns on each side half way up the back, and a net cover to hide the passengers till they reach the ring.

Here is a front view, the Pagoda Box in the background will also hold a surprise.

Here is a close up of the box that will contain a smaller version of the passengers in the Rickshaw.

Now the privacy curtain has been added.

There was one more idea up Paul's sleeve for the Chinese Dog Display, if you haven't guessed it yet,,,,,,,,,,,,,here it is!

This is also the latest craze in Japan, they are turning every breed you can think of into a "Panda Dog". One owners dog looks so real, he has been investigated 36 times for illegally possessing a Panda.

That is "Panda Monium".

If you haven' been there yet, visit,,,,,www.Wilsondogs.com,,,,to see what else the Wilson Sisters are up to